Lampard targets top four at Chelsea
Bullish Lampard high hopes for beloved Blues
FRANK LAMPARD insists he can defy all the doubts and lead Chelsea to a top-four finish in his first season in charge. Club legend Lampard’s fairytale Chelsea return, as head coach on a three-year deal, was confirmed yesterday and he outlined his plans to maintain their high ‘standards’ despite a few handicaps.
They have made Mateo Kovacic’s loan from Real Madrid permanent for £40million and Christian Pulisic will be available after signing from Borussia Dortmund for £58m in January and spending the rest of last season on loan in Germany.
But Chelsea lost their best player, Eden Hazard, this summer, and can’t buy any more players due to a transfer ban. With rookie boss Lampard in charge they face fierce competition from five other clubs for the coveted Champions League spots.
Lampard said: ‘I played here for many years and I know there are standards. Do we want to be playing Champions League football year-in, year-out? Yes, for sure, and that is something that should drive us all on — myself and the players included. No, they haven’t said that is the target and I don’t think they need to.
‘It’s very clear that generally, barring a couple of seasons in recent years, we are a club that has managed to be top four or winning titles. We do have a deep enough squad for the top four.’
Chelsea’s 211-goal, all-time top scorer, Lampard described his new job as the biggest challenge of his career and vowed to prove his worth to the club all over again.
He said: ‘Coming here 18 years ago was a challenge.
‘I remember driving home, I had the radio on and people were questioning whether I should be here for £11million. I worked really hard to put that right as a player and now I am in a position where I have to work really hard to be successful as a manager here.
‘When I started out in management one year ago (at Derby) I thought that was a challenge, because you have to start again. I don’t want credit for my playing career. I should be judged on what I do here.
‘If I wanted to go away for the rest of my life, look back on my career and protect it, I could have done that. I don’t see it as a risk. I feel proud to have been chosen and now it is up to me to show they made the right decision.’
LAMPARD is intelligent and articulate, an accomplished front man and, with circumstances as they are, perfect for Chelsea. He is an antidote to Maurizio Sarri, who was too busy chewing on his cigarette butt, too absorbed in his tactics, too concerned with superstition to wave to the travelling fans or throw them the words they longed to hear.
Lampard will connect with supporters, they are on the same wavelength. They adore him and love to sing his song.
He will connect with the players because he recently sat where they sit and won the lot, and he promised academy graduates he would ‘unlock the door’ to the first team but could offer no
guarantees, and he promised elder players a ‘clean slate’. And he should be well placed to connect with the board because he knows them and he understands Chelsea under Roman Abramovich.
‘I will be speaking to the owner,’ said Lampard, who was a player at the club when the Russian first set down his helicopter at the Harlington training ground in 2003.
‘I haven’t spoken to him at the minute. One of the benefits of me being here is that I don’t need huge amounts of conversations. We want to be competitive. Yes, we want to bring young players through, but that is something I should look to do anyway, it isn’t a major part of the conversation.
‘And we want to win. I felt that from the minute the owner came in, years and years ago. I remember him landing at Harlington, coming in and speaking to us and for me the landscape of the club changed in an instant because of the desire for excellence in the facilities and the standards on the pitch and I don’t think the levels have dropped since then.
‘That hasn’t changed, so when I do speak to the owner I expect him to demand the same things I demand of myself and the team.’
Lampard knows he will have to toe the touchline in the heat of competition and pit tactical wits with Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, while under the scrutiny which comes in the Premier League.
‘I tried last year and I will try again to produce a team that is aggressive,’ said Lampard.
‘Work rate is important to me and that starts on the training pitch. Last year I saw the correlation between how players trained and performed.
‘I want an aggressive team with energy, bravery on the ball, moving the ball quickly, that’s a big thing for me. I have huge respect for the teams at the top of this league, Manchester City and Liverpool, some of their performances and the speed of their game, that’s the speed I want in my team.’
Can he coach on his feet? Can his coaches coach? ‘This is not an old boys’ club,’ said Lampard, as he confirmed Jody Morris, Chris Jones, Joe Edwards and Eddie Newton would be part of his backroom staff. ‘We are young but we are not inexperienced.’
He was primed for questions about his experience.
Only a year into a managerial career, and still to acquire his UEFA Pro Licence qualification, he knows there are doubts.
‘Do you know where to play N’Golo Kante?’ he was asked.
‘Yes, I do, thankfully,’ Lampard replied with a smile and the room chuckled along. He said the right things. He gave off the right vibes. He talks a good game.
Now the hard work begins.